This mother made dolls for her daughter, and now it makes Rs 2 lakh a month.
Veena Peter’s business, Tara’s Doll House, started out as a simple concept to console her daughter and has grown to become a well-known brand in Bengaluru, providing handmade, environmentally friendly dolls that children may customize. She sells dolls for kids that showcase sustainable practices, ethnic diversity, and well-considered design.
“No business plan, no pricing strategy, no name… “I just went into a flea market with thirty handcrafted eco-friendly dolls in hand — and before the day was up, I had sold out,” recalls Veena Peter, proprietor of “Tara Doll House” in Bengaluru.
“I still remember that I priced my dolls at the flea market after doing some basic market research,” she recalls. Veena’s story began as a mother’s attempt to comfort her daughter, but it has now inspired many other mothers. It offers a thoughtful and gentler alternative to the market for children’s toys that is dominated by plastic. She says the idea for her project began as a bedtime puzzle.
Veena, who was born in Chennai, currently lives in Bengaluru. After earning a business administration degree and a human resources master’s degree from Women’s Christian College in Chennai, she began her career in the corporate sector.
She worked in customer service for almost ten years at firms like British Airways, Lufthansa, and Caratlane. However, she left everything behind in 2015, not knowing what to do next. “I was certain that I did not want to return to a business position. While determining my course, I began assisting my spouse with his educational company,” she says The Better India.
In the end, motherhood served as the compass. Following the birth of her daughter Tara, Veena adopted a parenting style that reflected her own values: being deliberate, in the moment, and avoiding electronic distractions.
She explains, “I made a conscious decision to put my phone down, and we do not let our daughter stare at the TV.” “I did not want my kid to spend their childhood near a screen. I wanted to savor every second and be fully present.
Learning how to make dolls
The company was formally launched in early 2023, but it had been gradually developing over the preceding months. The businesswoman, who had no prior experience in design, taught herself the trade on YouTube and Pinterest. I would research how to create rag dolls, examine the components, and determine how to assemble them. She claims that it was all trial and error.
Each doll starts with a hand-cut, outlined pattern on cotton that is stitched along. Turning the stitched forms inside out, they are filled with a particular cotton-polyester blend that does not shrink even after one washing. Since 100% cotton grows lumpy after washing, I was unable to utilize it. “This mixture maintains the dolls’ softness and integrity,” she says.
